March 24, 2025 • 22 mins
Hormone health isn't just about managing hot flashes—it's about reclaiming your sense of self when everything feels off-kilter. Jennifer and Melynda dive deep into the misunderstood world of perimenopause and menopause, sharing their personal journeys with hormone replacement therapy while emphasizing there's no one-size-fits-all solution.
After their enlightening conversation with women's health specialist Brooks Vaughn, the hosts unpack a critical truth: women deserve support when they "don't feel like themselves," not dismissal or instructions to simply push through. Both share their struggles with finding knowledgeable providers, with Jennifer detailing how relentless night sweats destroyed her sleep quality, while Melinda found initial relief through alternative therapies like acupuncture before eventually adding hormone therapy to her regimen.
The episode reveals alarming gaps in medical education, where most doctors—even OB-GYNs—receive minimal training about menopause. The hosts discuss how outdated research scared women away from hormone therapy for decades, only for newer studies to reveal this approach may have harmed women's long-term health. They advocate for a comprehensive approach combining bloodwork analysis, dietary adjustments, targeted supplements, and appropriate hormone therapy when needed. Whether you're approaching perimenopause or deep in the transition, this conversation offers validation, practical insights, and a reminder that this phase of life presents another opportunity for growth. What menopause questions keep you up at night? Share them with us on social media or email, and we'll address them in our upcoming follow-up with Brooks Vaughn!
We want to hear from you! Reach out to us on socials or at emptynestquestpod@gmail.com to share how our conversations are landing with you! xo-Melynda and Jennifer
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Empty Nest Quest, where we read about
midlife and embrace the journeyahead.
Join your hosts, jennifer andMelinda, as we share inspiring
stories, helpful hints,entrepreneurial advice and tips
that will have you thriving, notjust surviving, during this
transformative time of your life.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Whether you're approaching the empty nest phase
or already navigating it, we'rehere to support you every step
of the way.
Let's embark on this questtogether.
Hello, hello, welcome to theEmpty Nest Quest.
Yes, this is Jennifer andMelinda.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, we're so glad to be with you today.
We are kind of talking to allthings perimenopause, menopause,
which is just so appropriatefor us to be talking about, and,
honestly, today our episodewill, you know, kind of keep it
short, but in the last episodewe had Brooks Vaughn on from the
(00:57):
Women's Health.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Company so wonderful.
Oh my gosh, I could listen toher all day.
I know I can't wait.
She was just so relatable andso extremely intelligent, but
just I felt like I mean Iunderstood everything she said.
You know, she just made it soeasy to understand.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, and the thing that, um, she and I really the
way we met and really connectedwas, you know, I was coming from
the side I think we just foundeach other on social media, but
I was coming from the side of,obviously I work more with women
about their emotional,spiritual health and then and
and a little bit of physical too, obviously, but she is
(01:41):
definitely more on the physicalum like the medical and medical
health but we both just reallyfirmly in this belief that all
this was related like who youare spiritually, emotionally,
affects who you are, in yourhealth, you know, body's health
um your mind, your mental health, all of it's related, and so
that's what I've always lovedabout her she just really values
(02:03):
everything going on with awoman and I love that she said
she didn't say like tick offfive symptoms you have to have
to ask for help.
She said that when you don'tfeel like yourself, Right, and
I'm like, yes, like let's, let'saffirm that women we know Right
.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
We know our bodies, we know how we feel and we know
this is not normal.
I am not feeling normal, right,and that that should be good
enough.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
A hundred percent and that I just want to encourage
you out there and I feel likeJennifer and I've said this
before, but obviously somethings are bare repeating If you
are in a situation where youhave gone to someone and you've
said I don't feel like myself, Idon't feel well, something's
off, keep searching for anotherprovider.
(02:53):
What is beautiful about today'sworld is there is a thing
called telehealth.
So if you live in a town andyou don't have somebody network,
ask people like, don't give up.
So yes, it stinks when we don'thave what we need available to
us, but don't let that knock youback and you just and you not
do anything like right you know,keep your sense of agency, keep
(03:15):
your, keep your head in thegame and ask around for help
right and you don't.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I think the main thing to remember is so many
I've heard so many people sayyou know, just push through.
You know you just have to pushthrough this time in your life
and yeah, yeah, I could survive,I could push through.
But is that really?
I mean, there are things outthere that can help us and that
(03:44):
you don't have to feel sohorrible for years.
And you don't have to.
And now we're finding out thatreally, when you do that, you
put your health in jeopardy, andthat's one thing that Brooks is
going to talk about on our nextepisode is really dive deep
into the misconceptions ofhormone replacement therapy and
(04:08):
you know just, really just someof the false studies that have
given people the wrong ideaabout that and how it really can
be damaging to people's health.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, I think we just have to remember that nothing
is stationary and unmoving.
And the same is true withmedical data.
And medicine is a big thing,right?
And so they're waiting forstudies to show this and that.
(04:42):
And now, finally, there islong-term data that shows
different outcomes than whatthey thought the exact same
study showed when, like ourmothers, were in this phase of
life.
I mean, I can rememberspecifically my mom.
I don't know exactly what shewas on.
I know I remember hearing theword estrogen float around and
(05:05):
all of a sudden she was off andit was like an abrupt like well,
I'm not doing that anymore andmy mom is already very health
conscious.
She, she would always prefer todo anything she can with
nutrition and movement andexercise and being outside
anything before she has to takea pill.
(05:25):
That's just the way she's wired.
So the minute that somebodytold her that her being on
estrogen might make hersusceptible to cancer and she
had she was done, and also hersister was actively battling
breast cancer.
So she was like, okay, that'sit, that's out for me, right,
and she didn't need to hearanything else.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I mean, that was it and of for me right and, and she
didn't need to hear anythingelse.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I mean, that was it and of course not right, I mean
right and it was all over veryscary there's a movie right now
out um.
I don't know where you can viewit now.
Certainly it's probably online.
I went to an event in Athens,but it's called the M factor,
and Dr Mary Haver and some otherum leaders.
There's an endocrinologist,there's a cardiologist all these
(06:07):
doctors that are really intowomen's health, and women's
hormone health particularly butthe M factor is talking about
menopause and and just how theresearch has been misconstrued
and how, like now, there's thisresurgence of information, and
so some of what I wanted to hearabout that I want to talk about
(06:28):
today, though, was justpersonally, um so jennifer in
your story, because I know so,jennifer and I both are um doing
hormone replacement therapywe're doing it differently
because our bodies are different, but we both are doing it, that
we're not telling you what todo.
I just want to be transparent sothat if you have, you know,
(06:48):
just to know that, that we are.
Um and Jennifer, what led youthere, like what got you?
Was it a long road?
Did your doctor listen to youimmediately?
Like, how did you wind up?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
there.
Yeah, it was a long road andpart of what I went through I
didn't know what was happeningin that perimenopause phase.
Yeah, the main thing that stoodout to me was sleep.
Not only the lack of sleep, butthe night sweats.
And I don't know if, likelooking back, I'm like, well,
(07:24):
was the lack of sleep due to thenight sweats or would that have
?
I think that was a factoranyway.
But I mean, I would wake up.
This was every single night.
I would wake up, I would bedrenched, and then you know
you're burning up, so you throwthe covers off, forget any
pajamas.
I mean, you know, forget it,because what's the point?
(07:48):
I'm going to be soaked in themiddle of the night.
It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Have you ever heard that Adam Sandler movie where he
gets out of bed in his grosssweaty entrance?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
That is literally like what I felt like it was
gross.
I would throw the covers offand then 10 minutes later, right
when I fell back to sleep, Iwould be freezing because, you
know, it was just, it was thiscycle.
It was a horrible, horribletime period because we all know,
without sleep, oh my gosh, yougo a little wonky, yeah, you're
(08:20):
not able to function.
And so that was really the maincontributing factor to me.
And then starting to hearpeople around our age talk about
it, I think that's what's soimportant.
That's why I'm so glad we'redoing this series, because
hearing people talk about it Ithink that's what's so important
.
That's why I'm so glad we'redoing this series, because
hearing people talk about ithelps other people.
(08:43):
And that's how I, that's how Ifirst really learned about the
hormone replacement therapy, andI'm like, oh, I need to check
into this.
And so when I went to myprimary care physician, I said
you know, I really think thatI'm in perimenopause or
menopause.
You know, these are thesymptoms I'm having.
(09:05):
At that time I was having veryirregular periods, but I had not
gone a whole year, you know.
And so because of that, I waskind of dismissed and he didn't
want to take blood work hormone,any of the hormone panel blood
work, because he said that wasreally not his area.
(09:28):
He was really going to leavethat up to my OBGYN.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Which I this is what I find fascinating, and I so I'm
a nerd on my computer right nowis sitting on like this
encyclopedia about menopause,and then behind it are two more
like encyclopedia sized booksabout menopause and women's
health.
So I have always just been Idon't know fascinated by our
bodies and what they do, and Iwill say that I have always
(09:57):
heard doctors in the women'shealth arena say, even up until
now, like now, they are justjust now like people in medical
school right now are the firstones to start getting anything
more than like one chapter in abook.
And the people that got the onechapter in the book are ob-gyns
(10:19):
.
Family practice doctors didn'tget the one chapter, no, that
the one.
So it's like really a topicthat has really been dismissed.
And, um, I went and intervieweda doctor like two weeks ago to
talk to her and she said shesaid here's what I will say.
(10:40):
She said western medicine hasdone a beautiful job of pairing
symptoms with solutions forthose symptoms.
She said, but she said and, butnot every symptom, like we're
still learning about some, right?
She was like and then where wehave a shortcoming is really
getting into root causes andreally going back to the root
(11:03):
cause and being able to addressfrom the root cause, like why is
your thyroid goingwhack-a-doodle?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
And.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I feel like what's really beautiful about some of
the information out there nowthat we're seeing with menopause
and perimenopause is like whatBrooks did a good job of is
explaining to us why.
Oh my gosh, why we're feelingwackadoodle and she kind of goes
through and talks aboutdifferent the hormone, our whole
endocrine system and we just,we were so like we talk about
(11:32):
hormones, like they.
This is annoying, like button,like the staples button that
somebody presses to send us intoa frizzy, you know, and I feel
like, yeah, for me it wassimilar.
I went to the doctor a fewtimes, said I didn't feel well,
I do think.
I will say I do think sometimeswhat happens is we walk in and
like some people that are reallysick when they come in, look so
(11:54):
bad and when they only have 10minutes, and then we look, come
in and we look still pretty allright.
And we're still talking with ournormal voice, and so I don't
think we're giving like majorflags that, like Melinda really
looks like a donkey on the edge.
I need to help her.
That's what I felt like.
But I don't think I reallyshowed like the desperation I
was feeling.
(12:14):
And then she does my lab work,which I don't think went in as
much depth.
Well, it didn't go in as muchdepth as what Brooks did with me
and so it looked fairly normal,you know, and so it was just
kind of and I was like no, no,no.
Now I will say for me, um, thepath that I took at that time
Brooks was not in Athens, yet Ihad never heard of anybody doing
(12:35):
what Brooks did.
Yet I do wanna also shout outthere are other people in Athens
that are great too, but at thetime I didn't know of anybody.
And I had a friend that when shewas going through infertility
treatment, she did acupunctureand she said it was a game
(12:56):
changer.
I mean, she has three healthychildren now and she said
acupuncture was a game changerfor me.
I think you would love itbecause you're so in, because I
love like kind of alternativethings that are a little more
get at the root cause, right,I've had just really bad
reactions to antibiotics overthe years, so I really try to do
stuff like proactively, right,definitely, acupuncture was huge
(13:22):
for me, um, and there's a typeof massage called like
craniosacral therapy.
Those two things were reallyinstrumental to me, to the point
that when I finally did get myblood work done, um, two
different practitioners likelooked at me and said I can't
believe you don't feel so muchworse than you do based on your
symptoms.
I said, well, now that you'relike asking me all the questions
(13:43):
and I'm answering yes to everysingle negative thing.
I'm realizing maybe, um, I'mrealizing maybe I'm not doing
great, but I think what washappening was like I want there
was a lot of healing in my bodythat was happening Right.
That was making me feel moresupported.
So I do want to say, if you'reout there and you're afraid to
(14:05):
try hormone replacement therapyor you have red flags in your
health history and you thinkthere's nothing great now.
I can't do this solutioneverybody's talking about.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
There are other things you can do, right um, and
I loved how brooke said it wasa um, a three-prong approach,
how she said that she looks theylook at um, your blood work,
they look at your well, yourblood work, your diet and your
(14:37):
supplements and then you knowhormone replacement therapy.
So I loved how, because youknow, going back to what you
said about how when doctors arein medical school, they really
don't get much information aboutthe hormone replacement therapy
(14:59):
or about menopause in generalat all.
The same goes for nutrition.
They don't.
I mean, I cannot tell you Idon't think I have been asked
that.
You know, I'm always asked.
You know, do you drink, do yousmoke?
That's, it's not.
(15:21):
What do you eat?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
You know they'll tell you if you've had a fluctuation
in your weight, but they don'tsay tell me about your diet, but
you know what's interesting is,doctors did used to ask that,
so I don't know if it's justbecome like with the time crunch
now because insurance is soinvolved with how long a doctor
can see a patient anymoreBecause I know back in the day
(15:45):
um when doctors did get to treatmore comprehensively like say
you would go to your internistLike now, like I have some of
our dear friends in town.
He is an internal medicinedoctor and he and his partner
went out on their own and leftkind of the insurance umbrella.
(16:10):
So he was like I know what todo and I can't do it in this
tiny little window of time,Right that I am being told to
see people and now you go seehim and Johnny goes to him.
So I can't remember if it'slike you automatically get 30
minutes or you automatically getan hour, but it's one of those
Right, which is a lot more thanwhat you normally get.
(16:30):
Three to six times longer thanyou get.
So I think some of it is that.
So he does.
He is saying to Johnny, right,yes, because he has time to yes.
And so I think and I did hearone time a doctor say to my
parents when I went with myparents he said I'll be honest,
(16:51):
cause I said we'll talk to mymom about what to eat, like you
know, she'll do it.
And he said, oh, he goes.
Well, I'll be honest.
I rarely say that first anymore, cause nobody wants to hear
that, right, you know,everybody's like just give me an
antibiotic, just give me a andum um, and so I do think that
there's also that mindset ofpeople like I'm in good grief.
(17:14):
We have like pharmaceuticalcommercials on all of our tv
shows now we didn't used to havethat so people are like hey, I
saw that thing when I waswatching the so-and-so show.
Surely you can just give methat right, I can still.
I can still, you know, eat junk, and just give me that medicine
so I think it's just tricky,like information overload that
probably they're navigating fromus asking Dr Google.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Right, oh yeah, for sure, I am guilty of that.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I think it's like the battle of that, plus the amount
of time they have with us.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And then it's just we're just in a weird time.
So I think that when we're intimes like this, we need to
advocate for ourselves.
We need communities like thisone.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
So we can come to our friends and say hey, what's?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
going on with you Right, and to reach out to
people like Brooks.
I mean, she is such a greatresource for us and I'm so
excited about our next interviewwith her and that is going to
be focused on the misconceptionsof menopause.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Yes, and so I want y'all to tell us what your most
annoying symptoms, yes, what areyour most annoying things and
what are your?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
questions.
You know what questions do youhave that you wish you could ask
your doctor, but either youcan't get a straight answer, you
can't get in touch with them,or you just forgot.
Um, you know, send them to usand we will make sure we ask
Brooks.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yes, so yeah, because I will say that for me, um,
I've done, I've done the whole.
you know, I did only holisticfirst, first it was helpful, and
then to add the layer of thehormone replacement has been
helpful and I also added I havedone a lot of diet modifications
because I actually found outthat I think perimenopause kind
(19:02):
of threw me into this autoimmunethyroid stuff, but it so it's
kind of I'm one of the peoplelike Brooke's reference that can
kind of get thrown into theextra, but the diet part has
been really helpful and um.
So all of the prongs of herapproach have been important to
me, one of each.
If I do any one of them bythemselves, it's not enough,
(19:23):
right?
So I feel like, but a lot ofwhat I've learned is not just
from a doctor, is fromconversations that we're having.
I have another friend who hasHashimoto's and we brainstorm
back and forth.
I'm taking this.
Have you tried this?
No, I'll ask my doctor, Ihaven't tried that.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Right.
So information is helpful.
Another episode that would begreat for her to do would just
be to be on diet.
To be on diet, I mean what?
What are trigger foods?
What are foods that you know ingeneral you should stay away
from?
You know what are.
(19:59):
Just, I think that would be sointeresting too, because I do
think that food is medicine andit can be used to heal us if
it's used correctly.
Yeah so but I'm just I'm sothankful that you know Brooks
and got us in touch with her andshe just I just enjoyed that
(20:20):
interview so much and I can'twait to talk to her again.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
So, but send us, send us your, your questions, and we
will definitely pass them alongto Brooks and you can send that
to us just through.
Yeah, so we have.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah you can message us on Instagram or Facebook.
You can also send we have umthe emptiness quest at Gmail, um
email if you want to and um,yeah, any of those ways and
we'll we'll have your questionsand get them answered.
And then we just don't want toleave on a negative note.
We want you just to rememberthat the beauty of being in this
(20:57):
phase of life, it is anotheropportunity to grow.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yes, and some people don't get this opportunity to go
through this phase.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So we're all in it together.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
We're pushing through together, pushing through the
menopause madness we can, we cando this yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So if you got brain fog, like us, don't worry, We'll
.
We'll keep these episodescoming and we'll keep saying,
you know we'll keep bringing itback.
So so flag these and share themwith a friend that you know is
in this season too, and thankyou so much for being on this
journey with us.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And if you have time, please leave us a review.
We would really appreciate it.
Yes, Y'all go out and have agreat week.
Bye, Bye.
Thank you for joining us on theEmpty Nest Quest.
We hope today's episode broughtyou inspiration, insight and a
sense of community.
Remember, this is your time tothrive.
If you enjoyed the show, besure to subscribe, leave a
(21:55):
review and share it with friends.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Stay connected with us on YouTube and Instagram at
Empty Nest Quest Podcast formore resources and updates.
Until next time, keep embracingthe journey and thriving on
your empty nest quest.
Welcome to the Empty Nest Quest, where we read about
midlife and embrace the journeyahead.
Join your hosts, jennifer andMelinda, as we share inspiring
stories, helpful hints,entrepreneurial advice and tips
that will have you thriving, notjust surviving, during this
transformative time of your life.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Whether you're approaching the empty nest phase
or already navigating it, we'rehere to support you every step
of the way.
Let's embark on this questtogether.
Hello, hello, welcome to theEmpty Nest Quest.
Yes, this is Jennifer andMelinda.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, we're so glad to be with you today.
We are kind of talking to allthings perimenopause, menopause,
which is just so appropriatefor us to be talking about, and,
honestly, today our episodewill, you know, kind of keep it
short, but in the last episodewe had Brooks Vaughn on from the
(00:57):
Women's Health.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Company so wonderful.
Oh my gosh, I could listen toher all day.
I know I can't wait.
She was just so relatable andso extremely intelligent, but
just I felt like I mean Iunderstood everything she said.
You know, she just made it soeasy to understand.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, and the thing that, um, she and I really the
way we met and really connectedwas, you know, I was coming from
the side I think we just foundeach other on social media, but
I was coming from the side of,obviously I work more with women
about their emotional,spiritual health and then and
and a little bit of physical too, obviously, but she is
(01:41):
definitely more on the physicalum like the medical and medical
health but we both just reallyfirmly in this belief that all
this was related like who youare spiritually, emotionally,
affects who you are, in yourhealth, you know, body's health
um your mind, your mental health, all of it's related, and so
that's what I've always lovedabout her she just really values
(02:03):
everything going on with awoman and I love that she said
she didn't say like tick offfive symptoms you have to have
to ask for help.
She said that when you don'tfeel like yourself, Right, and
I'm like, yes, like let's, let'saffirm that women we know Right
.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
We know our bodies, we know how we feel and we know
this is not normal.
I am not feeling normal, right,and that that should be good
enough.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
A hundred percent and that I just want to encourage
you out there and I feel likeJennifer and I've said this
before, but obviously somethings are bare repeating If you
are in a situation where youhave gone to someone and you've
said I don't feel like myself, Idon't feel well, something's
off, keep searching for anotherprovider.
(02:53):
What is beautiful about today'sworld is there is a thing
called telehealth.
So if you live in a town andyou don't have somebody network,
ask people like, don't give up.
So yes, it stinks when we don'thave what we need available to
us, but don't let that knock youback and you just and you not
do anything like right you know,keep your sense of agency, keep
(03:15):
your, keep your head in thegame and ask around for help
right and you don't.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I think the main thing to remember is so many
I've heard so many people sayyou know, just push through.
You know you just have to pushthrough this time in your life
and yeah, yeah, I could survive,I could push through.
But is that really?
I mean, there are things outthere that can help us and that
(03:44):
you don't have to feel sohorrible for years.
And you don't have to.
And now we're finding out thatreally, when you do that, you
put your health in jeopardy, andthat's one thing that Brooks is
going to talk about on our nextepisode is really dive deep
into the misconceptions ofhormone replacement therapy and
(04:08):
you know just, really just someof the false studies that have
given people the wrong ideaabout that and how it really can
be damaging to people's health.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, I think we just have to remember that nothing
is stationary and unmoving.
And the same is true withmedical data.
And medicine is a big thing,right?
And so they're waiting forstudies to show this and that.
(04:42):
And now, finally, there islong-term data that shows
different outcomes than whatthey thought the exact same
study showed when, like ourmothers, were in this phase of
life.
I mean, I can rememberspecifically my mom.
I don't know exactly what shewas on.
I know I remember hearing theword estrogen float around and
(05:05):
all of a sudden she was off andit was like an abrupt like well,
I'm not doing that anymore andmy mom is already very health
conscious.
She, she would always prefer todo anything she can with
nutrition and movement andexercise and being outside
anything before she has to takea pill.
(05:25):
That's just the way she's wired.
So the minute that somebodytold her that her being on
estrogen might make hersusceptible to cancer and she
had she was done, and also hersister was actively battling
breast cancer.
So she was like, okay, that'sit, that's out for me, right,
and she didn't need to hearanything else.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I mean, that was it and of for me right and, and she
didn't need to hear anythingelse.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
I mean, that was it and of course not right, I mean
right and it was all over veryscary there's a movie right now
out um.
I don't know where you can viewit now.
Certainly it's probably online.
I went to an event in Athens,but it's called the M factor,
and Dr Mary Haver and some otherum leaders.
There's an endocrinologist,there's a cardiologist all these
(06:07):
doctors that are really intowomen's health, and women's
hormone health particularly butthe M factor is talking about
menopause and and just how theresearch has been misconstrued
and how, like now, there's thisresurgence of information, and
so some of what I wanted to hearabout that I want to talk about
(06:28):
today, though, was justpersonally, um so jennifer in
your story, because I know so,jennifer and I both are um doing
hormone replacement therapywe're doing it differently
because our bodies are different, but we both are doing it, that
we're not telling you what todo.
I just want to be transparent sothat if you have, you know,
(06:48):
just to know that, that we are.
Um and Jennifer, what led youthere, like what got you?
Was it a long road?
Did your doctor listen to youimmediately?
Like, how did you wind up?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
there.
Yeah, it was a long road andpart of what I went through I
didn't know what was happeningin that perimenopause phase.
Yeah, the main thing that stoodout to me was sleep.
Not only the lack of sleep, butthe night sweats.
And I don't know if, likelooking back, I'm like, well,
(07:24):
was the lack of sleep due to thenight sweats or would that have
?
I think that was a factoranyway.
But I mean, I would wake up.
This was every single night.
I would wake up, I would bedrenched, and then you know
you're burning up, so you throwthe covers off, forget any
pajamas.
I mean, you know, forget it,because what's the point?
(07:48):
I'm going to be soaked in themiddle of the night.
It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Have you ever heard that Adam Sandler movie where he
gets out of bed in his grosssweaty entrance?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
That is literally like what I felt like it was
gross.
I would throw the covers offand then 10 minutes later, right
when I fell back to sleep, Iwould be freezing because, you
know, it was just, it was thiscycle.
It was a horrible, horribletime period because we all know,
without sleep, oh my gosh, yougo a little wonky, yeah, you're
(08:20):
not able to function.
And so that was really the maincontributing factor to me.
And then starting to hearpeople around our age talk about
it, I think that's what's soimportant.
That's why I'm so glad we'redoing this series, because
hearing people talk about it Ithink that's what's so important
.
That's why I'm so glad we'redoing this series, because
hearing people talk about ithelps other people.
(08:43):
And that's how I, that's how Ifirst really learned about the
hormone replacement therapy, andI'm like, oh, I need to check
into this.
And so when I went to myprimary care physician, I said
you know, I really think thatI'm in perimenopause or
menopause.
You know, these are thesymptoms I'm having.
(09:05):
At that time I was having veryirregular periods, but I had not
gone a whole year, you know.
And so because of that, I waskind of dismissed and he didn't
want to take blood work hormone,any of the hormone panel blood
work, because he said that wasreally not his area.
(09:28):
He was really going to leavethat up to my OBGYN.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Which I this is what I find fascinating, and I so I'm
a nerd on my computer right nowis sitting on like this
encyclopedia about menopause,and then behind it are two more
like encyclopedia sized booksabout menopause and women's
health.
So I have always just been Idon't know fascinated by our
bodies and what they do, and Iwill say that I have always
(09:57):
heard doctors in the women'shealth arena say, even up until
now, like now, they are justjust now like people in medical
school right now are the firstones to start getting anything
more than like one chapter in abook.
And the people that got the onechapter in the book are ob-gyns
(10:19):
.
Family practice doctors didn'tget the one chapter, no, that
the one.
So it's like really a topicthat has really been dismissed.
And, um, I went and intervieweda doctor like two weeks ago to
talk to her and she said shesaid here's what I will say.
(10:40):
She said western medicine hasdone a beautiful job of pairing
symptoms with solutions forthose symptoms.
She said, but she said and, butnot every symptom, like we're
still learning about some, right?
She was like and then where wehave a shortcoming is really
getting into root causes andreally going back to the root
(11:03):
cause and being able to addressfrom the root cause, like why is
your thyroid goingwhack-a-doodle?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
And.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I feel like what's really beautiful about some of
the information out there nowthat we're seeing with menopause
and perimenopause is like whatBrooks did a good job of is
explaining to us why.
Oh my gosh, why we're feelingwackadoodle and she kind of goes
through and talks aboutdifferent the hormone, our whole
endocrine system and we just,we were so like we talk about
(11:32):
hormones, like they.
This is annoying, like button,like the staples button that
somebody presses to send us intoa frizzy, you know, and I feel
like, yeah, for me it wassimilar.
I went to the doctor a fewtimes, said I didn't feel well,
I do think.
I will say I do think sometimeswhat happens is we walk in and
like some people that are reallysick when they come in, look so
(11:54):
bad and when they only have 10minutes, and then we look, come
in and we look still pretty allright.
And we're still talking with ournormal voice, and so I don't
think we're giving like majorflags that, like Melinda really
looks like a donkey on the edge.
I need to help her.
That's what I felt like.
But I don't think I reallyshowed like the desperation I
was feeling.
(12:14):
And then she does my lab work,which I don't think went in as
much depth.
Well, it didn't go in as muchdepth as what Brooks did with me
and so it looked fairly normal,you know, and so it was just
kind of and I was like no, no,no.
Now I will say for me, um, thepath that I took at that time
Brooks was not in Athens, yet Ihad never heard of anybody doing
(12:35):
what Brooks did.
Yet I do wanna also shout outthere are other people in Athens
that are great too, but at thetime I didn't know of anybody.
And I had a friend that when shewas going through infertility
treatment, she did acupunctureand she said it was a game
(12:56):
changer.
I mean, she has three healthychildren now and she said
acupuncture was a game changerfor me.
I think you would love itbecause you're so in, because I
love like kind of alternativethings that are a little more
get at the root cause, right,I've had just really bad
reactions to antibiotics overthe years, so I really try to do
stuff like proactively, right,definitely, acupuncture was huge
(13:22):
for me, um, and there's a typeof massage called like
craniosacral therapy.
Those two things were reallyinstrumental to me, to the point
that when I finally did get myblood work done, um, two
different practitioners likelooked at me and said I can't
believe you don't feel so muchworse than you do based on your
symptoms.
I said, well, now that you'relike asking me all the questions
(13:43):
and I'm answering yes to everysingle negative thing.
I'm realizing maybe, um, I'mrealizing maybe I'm not doing
great, but I think what washappening was like I want there
was a lot of healing in my bodythat was happening Right.
That was making me feel moresupported.
So I do want to say, if you'reout there and you're afraid to
(14:05):
try hormone replacement therapyor you have red flags in your
health history and you thinkthere's nothing great now.
I can't do this solutioneverybody's talking about.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
There are other things you can do, right um, and
I loved how brooke said it wasa um, a three-prong approach,
how she said that she looks theylook at um, your blood work,
they look at your well, yourblood work, your diet and your
(14:37):
supplements and then you knowhormone replacement therapy.
So I loved how, because youknow, going back to what you
said about how when doctors arein medical school, they really
don't get much information aboutthe hormone replacement therapy
(14:59):
or about menopause in generalat all.
The same goes for nutrition.
They don't.
I mean, I cannot tell you Idon't think I have been asked
that.
You know, I'm always asked.
You know, do you drink, do yousmoke?
That's, it's not.
(15:21):
What do you eat?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
You know they'll tell you if you've had a fluctuation
in your weight, but they don'tsay tell me about your diet, but
you know what's interesting is,doctors did used to ask that,
so I don't know if it's justbecome like with the time crunch
now because insurance is soinvolved with how long a doctor
can see a patient anymoreBecause I know back in the day
(15:45):
um when doctors did get to treatmore comprehensively like say
you would go to your internistLike now, like I have some of
our dear friends in town.
He is an internal medicinedoctor and he and his partner
went out on their own and leftkind of the insurance umbrella.
(16:10):
So he was like I know what todo and I can't do it in this
tiny little window of time,Right that I am being told to
see people and now you go seehim and Johnny goes to him.
So I can't remember if it'slike you automatically get 30
minutes or you automatically getan hour, but it's one of those
Right, which is a lot more thanwhat you normally get.
(16:30):
Three to six times longer thanyou get.
So I think some of it is that.
So he does.
He is saying to Johnny, right,yes, because he has time to yes.
And so I think and I did hearone time a doctor say to my
parents when I went with myparents he said I'll be honest,
(16:51):
cause I said we'll talk to mymom about what to eat, like you
know, she'll do it.
And he said, oh, he goes.
Well, I'll be honest.
I rarely say that first anymore, cause nobody wants to hear
that, right, you know,everybody's like just give me an
antibiotic, just give me a andum um, and so I do think that
there's also that mindset ofpeople like I'm in good grief.
(17:14):
We have like pharmaceuticalcommercials on all of our tv
shows now we didn't used to havethat so people are like hey, I
saw that thing when I waswatching the so-and-so show.
Surely you can just give methat right, I can still.
I can still, you know, eat junk, and just give me that medicine
so I think it's just tricky,like information overload that
probably they're navigating fromus asking Dr Google.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Right, oh yeah, for sure, I am guilty of that.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I think it's like the battle of that, plus the amount
of time they have with us.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And then it's just we're just in a weird time.
So I think that when we're intimes like this, we need to
advocate for ourselves.
We need communities like thisone.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
So we can come to our friends and say hey, what's?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
going on with you Right, and to reach out to
people like Brooks.
I mean, she is such a greatresource for us and I'm so
excited about our next interviewwith her and that is going to
be focused on the misconceptionsof menopause.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Yes, and so I want y'all to tell us what your most
annoying symptoms, yes, what areyour most annoying things and
what are your?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
questions.
You know what questions do youhave that you wish you could ask
your doctor, but either youcan't get a straight answer, you
can't get in touch with them,or you just forgot.
Um, you know, send them to usand we will make sure we ask
Brooks.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yes, so yeah, because I will say that for me, um,
I've done, I've done the whole.
you know, I did only holisticfirst, first it was helpful, and
then to add the layer of thehormone replacement has been
helpful and I also added I havedone a lot of diet modifications
because I actually found outthat I think perimenopause kind
(19:02):
of threw me into this autoimmunethyroid stuff, but it so it's
kind of I'm one of the peoplelike Brooke's reference that can
kind of get thrown into theextra, but the diet part has
been really helpful and um.
So all of the prongs of herapproach have been important to
me, one of each.
If I do any one of them bythemselves, it's not enough,
(19:23):
right?
So I feel like, but a lot ofwhat I've learned is not just
from a doctor, is fromconversations that we're having.
I have another friend who hasHashimoto's and we brainstorm
back and forth.
I'm taking this.
Have you tried this?
No, I'll ask my doctor, Ihaven't tried that.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Right.
So information is helpful.
Another episode that would begreat for her to do would just
be to be on diet.
To be on diet, I mean what?
What are trigger foods?
What are foods that you know ingeneral you should stay away
from?
You know what are.
(19:59):
Just, I think that would be sointeresting too, because I do
think that food is medicine andit can be used to heal us if
it's used correctly.
Yeah so but I'm just I'm sothankful that you know Brooks
and got us in touch with her andshe just I just enjoyed that
(20:20):
interview so much and I can'twait to talk to her again.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
So, but send us, send us your, your questions, and we
will definitely pass them alongto Brooks and you can send that
to us just through.
Yeah, so we have.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah you can message us on Instagram or Facebook.
You can also send we have umthe emptiness quest at Gmail, um
email if you want to and um,yeah, any of those ways and
we'll we'll have your questionsand get them answered.
And then we just don't want toleave on a negative note.
We want you just to rememberthat the beauty of being in this
(20:57):
phase of life, it is anotheropportunity to grow.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yes, and some people don't get this opportunity to go
through this phase.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So we're all in it together.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
We're pushing through together, pushing through the
menopause madness we can, we cando this yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
So if you got brain fog, like us, don't worry, We'll
.
We'll keep these episodescoming and we'll keep saying,
you know we'll keep bringing itback.
So so flag these and share themwith a friend that you know is
in this season too, and thankyou so much for being on this
journey with us.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And if you have time, please leave us a review.
We would really appreciate it.
Yes, Y'all go out and have agreat week.
Bye, Bye.
Thank you for joining us on theEmpty Nest Quest.
We hope today's episode broughtyou inspiration, insight and a
sense of community.
Remember, this is your time tothrive.
If you enjoyed the show, besure to subscribe, leave a
(21:55):
review and share it with friends.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Stay connected with us on YouTube and Instagram at
Empty Nest Quest Podcast formore resources and updates.
Until next time, keep embracingthe journey and thriving on
your empty nest quest.
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